Discovery of occupational carcinogens
Occupational carcinogens make up the bulk of the known human carcinogens. Knowledge of them helps form a major step towards drafting ways of handling and prevention future cancer cases. The data from the discovery of occupational carcinogens may be taken up and used by scientists for research. Research has helped factories develop new preventive workplace measures as well as products that are less cancerous. Since occupational carcinogens do affect people way beyond the factories, it is of much importance in the fight against cancer for research to be done on them (Coleman, & Tsongalis, 2002).
There is difficulty in determining the composition of carcinogenic substances. This is because of the similarities that exist between occupational carcinogens and the others that occur outside the workplace. Another twist to it is when a factory’s staff is facing high cancer risk, but we are unable to point it to a causative agent. Sometimes in some cases, there is the only suggestive cause of cancer. An example of this is bladder cancer prevalence among the painters which is more of a suggestive cause. The above reasons emphasize the basis of the need for distinct labeling of occupational carcinogens (Cooper, 1992).
In the quest to define occupational carcinogens the number of staff exposed is of paramount importance. This number though important has to meet a certain minimum threshold for it to be put under occupational carcinogen. According to Hodgson (2010), this is because amongst the main population in our day-to-day lives, some are exposed through medication or drug manufacture. However, their numbers are quite negligible. This leads to the breakdown of carcinogen causes. It’s easier now to nail the exact number of people facing work-related cancer-causing situations. The breakdown is divided into definite, probable, or possible human occupational carcinogens. This data is of vital use for the fight against cancer.
Among the most affected organs of the human body is the lung. The paint for the painter, the spray for the worker in the flower farm, or any other type of air pollution ends up in the lungs. The list for the courses keeps expanding as new cancer cases develop and get reported. Carcinogenic agents once discovered, are less likely to be classified as harmless with time. They remain high-risk substances. This explains the fact that a lot of today’s discovered occupational carcinogens were under observation from way back in the 1950s. However many different carcinogenic substances continue to be discovered, while new ways of curbing the existing ones continue to be developed. The risk levels of carcinogens do change depending on the exposure time and other factors (Latreille et al., 2004).
In the fight against cancer, the research on occupational carcinogens can not be emphasized further. It is an important aspect of research on curative and preventative methods. The rules which regulatory bodies develop, define their origin from the occupational carcinogens discovery.
Designated carcinogens
The International Agency for Research on Cancer does review important data that relate to chemicals and industrial carcinogenic agents. They get this data from the studies of human cases or by doing experiments on animals. They figure out the poison nature of their subject the level of uptake and absorption into the animal or human systems. Research then is directed towards the exposure to the cancerous substance as well as towards human and animal reported cases. The human and animal evidence is of great importance in the classification of carcinogens. Definite human carcinogens are said to be eighty-nine, probable carcinogens are at sixty-four and lastly two hundred and sixty-four is the number of possible human carcinogens (Latreille et al., 2004).
Carcinogens are categorized under those with enough carcinogenic evidence this is observed both in humans and animals. The aim of such a category is to eliminate any cases of foul or unreliable claims. Then there is the limited evidence category in which one cannot rule out forms of bias. Insufficient evidence is one in which there is no linkage between the carcinogenic agent and the symptoms in humans and animals.
Finally under evidence that shows a lack of carcinogenicity means that there is absolutely no evidence that links the suspect substance with a cancerous condition both in humans and in animals (Milman, & Weisburger, 1994).
Carcinogen information
There has been a scarcity of information on the categorization of carcinogens by the IARC as well as the high-risk areas. The authors used a rule number of above ten thousand workers exposed worldwide or above a thousand workers exposed in a country (Milman, & Weisburger, 1994). This is the threshold that they used as a minimum requirement in data evaluation. With this, they came up with twenty-eight definite human occupational carcinogens, twenty-seven probable, one hundred and thirteen possible, and eighteen organizations that have cancer risk (Latreille et al., 2004). The latest data may change the IARC’s evaluation since the data is recent. The inclusion of substances that have been long restricted in some countries among others is the new information the new authors have tabled down on carcinogens. The authors managed to develop an all-inclusive list of occupational carcinogens that will act as a better guide for research. Their information will also be used to develop regulation policies, as well as help in crafting cancer prevention instructions.
References
Coleman, W. B., & Tsongalis, G. J. (2002). The molecular basis of human cancer. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press.
Cooper, G. M. (1992). Elements of human cancer. Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Hodgson, E. (2010). A textbook of modern toxicology. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.
Latreille, B., Lakhani, R., et al. (2004). Listing Occupational Carcinogens. Environ Health Perspect, 112(15): doi:10.1289/ehp.7047.
Milman, H. A., & Weisburger, E. K. (1994). Handbook of carcinogen testing. Park Ridge, N.J., U.S.A: Noyes Publications.